The station was built in two stages. The Northern Line station opened in 1890 as part of the first deep-level tube, the City & South London Railway (C&SLR). The Baker Street & Waterloo Railway (BS&WR) station opened on 5 August 1906 and the platforms were connected below ground from 10 August 1906. The station building was designed by Leslie Green in his classic deep-red tiles with six arches.

The name Elephant & Castle comes from the name of an old tavern from the 1800s, which had a gilt model of an elephant and castle on its frontage. The gilt was preserved and is now on display in the nearby shopping centre.

The first baby to be born on the Underground was born at Elephant & Castle station in 1924. Press reports claimed that she was named Thelma Ursula Beatrice Eleanor (so that her initials would read TUBE), but this story later proved false – she was actually named Marie Cordery.